In space everything is dead
by R.J.Young
Summary: Isaac Clarke status: Missing. Along with the crew of both USG Ishimura and USG Kellion. Isaac Clarke status: Classified. Sole survivor of the Aegis VII incidents. Survivor…
1. Chapter 1

"Isaac it's me, I wish I could talk to you, I'm sor…" Isaac cut the holovid short; there would be a time to grieve, to remember all that had been lost aboard the USG Ishimura. "I'm sorry, I love you." The words echoed inside Isaac's mind, Nicole's final moments would haunt his sleepless nights, more so than the nightmare aboard the stricken vessel.

A whisper of fabric shifting against deck plates invaded Isaacs self torture, the shadows that had enveloped the engineer in his time of pain exploded forward bringing with it the smell of putrid evil. Isaac raised his arm to fend of his attacker, his reinforced safety rig taking the brunt of the attack. Pushing back against the foul creature Isaac reached for his discarded helmet. His gloved fingers brushed against the lip of his make shift weapon, securing his grip Isaac swung with all the force he could muster.

The blow caught the creature of guard, using its moment of distress Isaac kicked out at the necromorph sending it sprawling across the cockpit. Isaac locked his helmet in place, registering that the suit was whole blue power lighting winked to life dispelling the shroud of darkness.

With light to guide his way Isaac advanced on the wounded necromorph, gripping its flailing arms he wrestled the monstrosity on to its back "no. No."

Isaac's knees buckled beneath him, stumbling backwards he blindly reached for something, anything. His hands fell upon a cutting device, the powerful hand held tool had saved his life many times aboard the Ishimura but this time it was not his life he intended to save. "Nicole, I am. I" Isaac choked on his words, priming the plasma cutter he took aim at the woman he once loved. The creature that was no more human than the ship in which they travelled rushed Isaac before he could make his shot. The pair crashed into the command console, the panels delicate frame smashed beneath there combined weight. The shuttles warning system blared from multiple speakers drowning out the necromorphs howls of rage, under the emergency lighting Isaac stared one last time into the cold dead eyes of his former lover. Isaac pressed the plasma cutter against Nicole's decaying flesh and fired.


	2. Chapter 2

Isaac fell amongst the wreckage, careful to avoid the pooling fluid that glistened underneath the hazard lighting. He could almost imagine it to be oil, almost. "What have I done?"

He had escaped. Survived, where so many others had fallen. Was this his punishment for not succumbing to the hell that had engulfed the body and minds of greater men? Isaac increased the power to his suit, the soothing blue luminescence clashed with the glaring red, fighting for dominance over the shadows. Somehow his reassuring glow would restore Nicole's humanity. He believed this to be true.

The monster that resided within had ravaged Nicole's body. Isaac ran his hand over her twisted and broken features; his gauntlet protected him from the alien textures that had replaced her milky skin. The energy bolt Isaac had fired into her body had severed the spinal column. The charred flesh and shattered vertebrae were insignificant wounds compared to the carnage left by the necromorph.

Isaac restored Nicole to her former glory inside his mind, replacing every mutated cell one at a time until he had a face he could remember. He pressed his armoured face against the fragile creature that hung limp in his arms and contemplated his options. Could he bring himself to jettison Nicole's body into space? Isaac knew He would force himself to watch his lover drift into the infinite darkness until she was nothing more than a memory. After all he had been made to endure that kind of final act would crush all that held him in place. No he would keep the body. Once he found peace he would lay his lover to rest.

Isaac stepped from the cockpit and was greeted by a shower of sparks. The small amenities' that made the rigors of space travel bearable overloaded as they competed for the ships remaining power. Isaac shielded Nicole's remains from explosive debris, Fragmented casings rained down on his hunched back as he made his way to the cryogenic compartment. A vessel this size would not accommodate the pair, given its limited space Isaac was grateful that somebody had found room for one freezer.

The cryogens would preserve Nicole's body leaving Isaac with something just recognisable to warrant a burial. If he had to drift in space awake and aware then so be it.

The doors to cryogenic storage had jammed themselves shut. Isaac lowered Nicole onto the deck plates and attempted to pry open the mechanical seal, the mechanisms gave but only an inch. Isaac felt the pressure used to keep the doors locked in the event of an emergency increasing; he removed his fingers before they were crushed. Broken machines, he could do this, it was what he was trained to do. Isaac tried to block out the chaos that had engulfed his mind, he tried to remember the simple procedure needed to pop the doors seal. He couldn't do it. The insistent drone from the dying shuttle invaded his concentration; he pounded at the pressure door, frustration overriding his training.

Isaac smashed open the doors control panel and bunched the exposed wiring in his fist, lacking the right tools and patience he resorted to brutality, it gave him little pleasure. The door rattled in its tracks and gradually pulled apart. He couldn't call it a job well done but it was a job done.

The translucent dome that sheathed the solitary coffin gleamed in the darkness, Isaac caught his reflection in the transparisteel covering, hunched under the weight of recent events he looked like a broken machine, his safety rig battle scarred and bloodied. He stood in front of the sterile pod expecting words to form, an outburst, a solemn pledge of vengeance or a prayer of peace for his departed. Nothing came. The longer he waited the more hollow he felt, he could feel a dull rage burning within him. Subdued by grief, the tiny inferno could not pierce the gripping numbness that hung to every fibre of his being.

Isaac tried to ignore the growing stain as he reverently placed Nicole's remains upon the cushioned cot, she didn't look peaceful, even in death the agonizing mutation contorted her body. Sealing the tube he fumbled at the controls, in seconds her twisted horror would be flash frozen into a lifetime of nightmares, he made himself watch.

"Critical system failure. Cryogenics is off-line. Please seek immediate assistance."

Isaac stabbed at the buttons again, he didn't need assistance, he needed it to work. He was rewarded by a repeat of the automated message.

The scale of the shuttles damage began to dawn on Isaac, the ship was dead in space. He scanned the pod for any signs of life, the LED sat lifeless, he couldn't fix this here. The sudden surge of power that had torn through the ship as Isaac and Nicole had crashed through the command console had scorched deep into its mechanical heart. The internal organs could be replaced, but he could not salvage this wreckage lost amongst the stars.

"This is Isaac Clarke. Soul survivor of the USG Kellion, systems engineer. Coordinates unknown, somewhere inside the Aegis system. My shuttle has run afoul and seeks urgent attention. This is a priority SOS."

Isaac stared into the eternal night; the shuttle would home in on any receiver and guide it to recovery. He listened to the beacon as it pinged the vast expanse. The rhythmic beep soothed his frayed mind; he followed the sound as it travelled through his exhausted body. That sound was all that mattered now.


	3. Chapter 3

"Two hundred and fifty kilometres until atmospheric re-entry. Automated landing has been initiated. Critical system failure. Manual override is unadvised. Message will repeat at two hundred kilometres."

The message, garbled and distorted picked its path through the fog of Isaac's subconscious, pulling him back from the Ishimura, back from the twisted cadavers that stalked him in his sleep.

Isaac tried to blink away the haze that hung like funeral drapes before his eyes, he couldn't raise the sleep induced curtains, he couldn't see. The warped husks of countless unnamed souls growled in the dark, he needed to calm himself, breathe, his vision would return and the monsters would leave. But the monsters wouldn't leave and the stale air that clawed at his throat fuelled his panic. How long had he been out, it wasn't possible to use the entire oxygen supply, the excess waste would be recycled. His scorched lungs that heaved against a growing pressure inside his chest suggested that it was entirely possible.

After all he had survived, he was going to die, on the doorstep of salvation, he would die, alone.

Isaac had accepted his fate aboard the planet-cracker, resigned to the fact that sooner or later his luck would run out. He had overcome insurmountable odds, he had survived the impossible. He didn't plan on suffocating, blind to the rescue that was just beyond his reach.

Isaac lunged from his seat, groping the shadows. Attached to the rear bulkhead was breathing apparatus, he didn't know its exact location but he would find it.

Using the riser of the pilot seat Isaac sought his bearings. Straight ahead, two meters from his current position was the entrance to the compact bridge. If he had installed the necessities of this room that's where he would have placed any emergency items, the ease of access would be essential in situations just like this. He stepped into the darkness.

His foot stopped short of its destination, taking him by surprise. Pain spread through the strained tendons like liquid metal, Isaac lost his fight with gravity and collapsed to the deck-plates. He could feel the jarring impact as his body crashed into the pock-marked steel, but there was no added pain. There were no eye-watering aches as bone met metal, the fall felt cushioned. He flexed his fingers, then rolled his shoulders. Realisation slowly seeped through his confusion.

Isaac wrenched at the catches that sealed his helmet, the dead air that had nearly choked the life from him escaped the broken seal into an oxygen rich environment. He left the helmet to fall from his hands, he watched with renewed vision as it rolled across the floor, how had he let this happen. He had ignored the most basic of rules regarding his specialized body suit.

"Never sleep in your rig."

The power reserve had run empty in his sleep, shutting down everything from assisted vision to providing precious oxygen to the air-tight interior. He had been in his suit so long, since the Kellion, he had been awake since the Kellion. His second skin had taken the brunt of the carnage that had been thrown at him aboard the Ishimura; he forgave himself the near fatal mistake. The rig had become a part of him; it was like removing his arms to sleep.

He savoured the shuttles life saving gift, his lungs protested against the sudden assault but it felt good, he couldn't say the same for it taste, Or the smell. He could taste Nicole. Her tainted blood had polluted the confined cock-pit, the smell of rotting flesh lingered in the air. Isaac couldn't recall a favourite perfume preferred by Nicole, he could remember a favoured night spot from their blooming romance and its distinctive fragrances. He inhaled the corrupt air, the shuttle smelled beautiful.

"Is there enough power to re-calibrate my rig?" his voice cracked as he addressed the shuttle. He needed liquid, soon.

The shuttle had taken control of its actions Isaac hoped it was listening.

"Affirmative. Surviving power ports located on the bridge."

Isaac recovered his helmet and rose to his feet. The emergency lighting had been subdued into tiny balls of colour that outlined the walls; he could just make out where he had to go.

"Thanks."

* * *

Isaac stepped back from the shuttles view-port. Without his rig he felt naked, he felt fragile.

"Are you sure about this? The shuttle isn't in good shape. You might not regain control in time."

This was supposed to be an automated landing, not an act of mechanical insanity.

"Riding the gravitational pull will conserve the remaining power."

It was too late to retake manual control. The planet had swelled across the view-port; he could already see the scars of civilization scrawled across its surface. A threat now couldn't hurt his situation.

"I'm concerned with you riding us straight into the ground! I'm taking command of this vessel, this is madness!"

"Manual override would result in unavoidable damage."

Isaac braced himself into the pilot seat. Unavoidable damage, they would be scattered into millions of little pieces.

"Just one wrong move and I'm taking control."

The shuttle began its atmospheric entry countdown. Isaac longed for his suit. The temperature inside the cock-pit had begun to rise, without his climate controlled environment this was going to become uncomfortable, fast.

The view-port blazed and burned as the shuttle fell towards the planet surface. The small compartment reeked, Isaac imagined an electrical storm drenched in molten plastic, the smell was painful.

"Were in, level out!"

Isaac's words were stolen by the roaring vortex that engulfed the shuttle. The shuttle continued to plummet toward the ground.

The rolling fire thinned, he could make out distant shapes through the burning heavens. The distorted shapes rapidly resolved into recognisable objects, buildings, tall buildings.

"Rapid Deceleration. Please stand by."

Isaac was torn from his seat; the full-body harness didn't stand a chance against such a sudden force. With out his armoured rig he felt every blow. Isaac listened from the floor as the strained shuttle fought to right its trajectory. The furious screams from the failing engines reached a chorus of piercing distress. Wailing in time with each blow from the hostile conditions.

Then silence, just the creak of plates cooling from the volatile upper-atmosphere.

"Automated landing, not as gentle as it sounds, is it?"

"The landing is still in process. Please remain seated."

Isaac stared up at the ceiling; he could see daylight reflecting in through the view-port.

"Wake me when we get there."


	4. Chapter 4

The shuttles landing struts gently kissed the planet. The ships tortured internals gave one last cry of protest before drifting into deafening silence. Isaac sighed along with the vessel. The crazy computer had pulled it off. He prayed the natives had ready the welcome wagon because he was not going anywhere fast in this bucket.

"I know machines. I know a little praise goes a long way, so thanks."

Isaac peered over the lip of the view-port. They were not wedged into the side of a deluxe office block or some local shrine. He could have worked around a disastrous landing. A smouldering crater would have been easier to explain than what was waiting on the planets surface. What lay before him tore into his mind, exploding through his body with visions of the nightmare that had been snapping at his heels for far longer than one man could take. Isaac fought off the destructive imagery that swarmed inside his head.

This wasn't the same thing, it couldn't be. Isaac forced his eyes open. The necromorph hadn't been responsible for this, that wouldn't make sense. But he had to be sure.

"Are you still with me?"

"Yes."

The shuttles disembodied voice chilled Isaac to his core. He was not talking to the shuttle and that was not the answer he was hoping for.

"That's comforting. Can you get us out of here?" Isaac slipped into his rig. The reassuring weight soothed his nerves; he cracked the helmet against his armoured thigh. He didn't feel a thing.

"Insufficient data available to calculate the… chance of maki…"

"I know we can't leave the planet. Can you get me away from this?" Isaac leaned against the view-port and took in the sweeping courtyard where his one chance of escape had come to rest. The deep shadows cast by the surrounding towers could not hide the lurking destruction. An ornamental fountain that would have once been an eye-catching focal point now ran torrents of red. As with the splattered walls that read like a book aboard the Ishimura he could track the final moments of countless, nameless people as they were torn through these decorative gardens. The rich soil turned to mud as ravaged life's seeped into the ground. A Shattered monument stood as a silent witness to the brutal scene that had played out around it.

"Do you have a specific destination?" the monotone voice droned oblivious to Isaacs's concerns.

"Forget it."

Isaacs's attention was pulled toward the broken entrance to this dead city. He tracked a distorted image along splintered glass that hung inside the elegant door frames. Something was moving through the hastily constructed barricade that ringed the farthest building. Twisted objects shifted as the unknown picked its way through the wreckage. He couldn't make out what it was, the glass was to damaged, the shadows to deep. He wanted to let it pass. He wanted to merge into his own shadows and wait. But it could be a survivor. He couldn't pass up invaluable help, he knew nothing of the planet, and there were things he needed to know. And if it wasn't a survivor. Isaac reached for his discarded plasma cutter.

* * *

Isaac skidded across the bloodied courtyard trying his hardest to avoiding the worst of the saturated paving. Wading through the wreckage of human life was something he would never get used to. He shouldn't have been watching his blood stained boots when the barricade was hiding possible death. But slipping on internal organs seemed a fate far worse. He looked up from his frantic dash, he had to be close. The unknown had the high ground; he wanted the element of surprise, if by chance it had missed the flaming ball of metal tearing through the sky.

"Lower the cutter son!"

"Fuck."

Isaac froze, he could feel something other than the ground beneath his boot but he didn't dare move. The fact that the husky voice was clearly human did little to settle his nerves.

"I kind of like it where it is, thanks." Isaac scanned the spider web of glass, if he could just work out where the voice was coming from maybe he could gain some kind of leverage.

"Listen, we don't have time to stand around comparing cock sizes so I'm coming out. But I don't want an accident with me and that tool of yours."

Isaac watched the stacked barricade shift as the stranger struggled to free himself. Agonizing seconds passed like hours, Isaac felt the vast expanse of the courtyard stretch out around him as he stood exposed to elements he did not understand. He tried to stop his mind from filling in the blanks but failed.

"Are you still with me Mr.?"

"Yup… just give me a… there we go. Oh and by the way, mines bigger than yours."

Isaac watched in amazement as the haggard form that emerged from behind the blockade attempted to heft a military grade assault rifle onto his shoulder. The elderly man staggered under the weight. Rattled by the slight embarrassment he opted to cradle his pulse rifle instead. If the old man had the strength and will to pull the trigger Isaacs's worries would have been over. Isaac didn't doubt the capability of the man but he did not look healthy.

"Well come on son. Let's go jump the stars. She still works right?" He nodded toward the battered hull of Isaacs's shuttle.

"Not really."

The powerful weapon that the man had tried to hold with pride turned into a support as he sunk into a crouch.

Well, you'd better follow me then."

"Wait a minute. What the hell happened here?"

"I saw your ship come down, thought you might have been the rescue. Guess I was wrong."

Isaac picked a path up the littered stone steps. The man had slipped inside the barricade once more and was moving off with or without him.

"I wasn't the only thing to see you come down. You can wait there, get your answers the dead way, or you can come with me."


	5. Chapter 5

"Do you need a hand with that?" Isaac had followed the stranger through discarded service tunnels and long lost conduits at an agonizing pace. In strained silenced they pushed forward, cringing at every unavoidable mistake. The creak of an armoured muscle, the rhythmic breath of an elderly person all roared with the ferocity of a thousand deep space engines. Minutes stretched to hours and with every one this claustrophobic embrace tightened. Now Isaac watched as his guide struggled against a crawl-in pressure door.

"It's fine, we're here now." the old man braced himself against Isaac's shoulder, a small respite before continuing his assault on the manual lock.

"And where is here exactly?"

"Waste disposal silo, home, for now."

"Waste dis_ are you serious." Isaac hissed inside his helmet. He could see from the dim power lighting being emitted by his rig that the man had almost won his fight with the door. With one last dip into his reserve he heaved backward this time taking the door with him.

"Don't worry it was never used."

Isaac slipped into the opening pulling the heavy door shut behind him. He had to hand it to the old guy; he still had some go inside of him. He watched his company disappear into the shadows. Moments later soft light blossomed from the darkness, the elderly man pushed a portable fuel lamp into the center of the room with his foot, leaning against the circular wall he gestured Isaac to sit.

"Let me take a wild guess son. You are C.E.C, right?"

"Not anymore. How'd you guess anyway?"

The elderly man slid a third generation identification chip across the smooth floor. Isaac reached for the transparent card. It was all retinal DNA, stool, blood and urine these days. If it wasn't you, you weren't getting inside, period.

"You're in the ass end of nowhere. You don't stray this far from home boy. Unless of course you're told to."

"Wait am I still inside the Cygnus system? How far are we from Aegis VII?" Isaac felt a clawing inside his suit; he couldn't get the air his body desperately screamed out for. Wrenching the helmet from his head glared into flickering light, his tortured mask pleading for mercy.

"Settle down son!" Isaac saw the Taloned hand glide into the soothing light. Blade like tips beckoning him to be still, except the inevitable.

"Listen to me boy. I have never heard of Aegis VII. Do you hear me?"

Isaac focused on the familiar sound. A sound that becomes lost in the dead of space but yet here with him. The sound of humanity. He rolled the fuel lamp toward the man, dagger like appendages morphed into wrinkled concern.

"I, uh look I'm. So you have never heard of Aegis VII?"

The elderly man shook his head.

"And the Cygnus system, a mystery too?"

The elderly man set right the fuel lamp before it burnt itself out.

"We're the closest sun to the Cygnus cluster. I'm sorry."

Isaac learned his sole survivor had a name. It was Joseph Henley. Unable to form the words needed for communication he spent a moment of silence studying the identification chip. It was old, twenty five years or so. Issued as a restricted pass for security officers aboard the titan space station, the Sprawl. Policing civilians didn't shape a man like this. But add back breaking work, a fairly large Unitologist presence, some where down the road there will be trouble. Doesn't matter how pretty Saturn is.

"Retired now. My little ones are still there though. One ain't so little anymore mind you."

Isaac looked up from the chip, hesitated then handed it back.

"Take this instead." Joseph slid a well worn photo into his hand.

"These are my angels Mr. Clarke. My space angels. I have to tell you a story about monsters now, I don't want to but I need you to know. You need to know there is nothing in this universe that will stop me from getting home to my babies."

Isaac left the words to echo inside his mind. He knew the story that was about to be told. Monster numbed every cell that it touched upon inside his body. He had used everything and more to destroy the cursed marker on Aegis VII. The journey to destruction had cost him more than he was willing to know. But it was for nothing. The power of the artifact had seeped into the stars, nightmares trailing on its wake.

Isaac you find your self at a place where so many want to be but so few will ever get. You may have noticed the grandeur that welcomed your unfortunate arrival. The elegant design soiled by death? If you had more credits than one man could ever possibly want and say, you needed to escape humanities prying eye. Then you would have once again found yourself here. You are at a retreat Isaac. This isn't a retreat for the rich and famous, this is a retreat for those that own said rich and famous. An exotic getaway, much like any number of the lost tropical resorts of home but under an alien moon. Complete seclusion.

"You get where I'm coming from Isaac? We're in a place that nobody knows exists. I had the chief security gig. Between you and me I was getting paid more than I should have been, babysitting a bunch of pampered panty wastes. "

Isaac let Henley's story of mundane routine wash over him. He sat waiting for the break in this mans routine, strange behaviour as colleagues broke their daily deck of cards, sick days leading to disappearances, bodies void of life the life extinguished by its owner. How long was it Joseph until these galactic gods tuned on one another, animalistic fits of rage, senseless murder? How long did it take for the dead to wake up?

The transformation didn't come. Isaac tried to break from his own ghost story replaying inside his head. Heavy eyes promised to set the stage for a full recap. Rumours of an expensive egg, eggs broke through the fog. In the belly of a ship, nestled in a port beyond the reach of josephs' security team.

Blood vessels pulsed inside his lids forming artificial flames from the fuel lamps glow.

"Eggs?"

"The maintenance boys over at the spaceport called 'em pods. Organic? Plant like."

"That doesn't make sense." Isaac tried to prop himself up, the routine had started to break but this wasn't right.

"You rest mate, I'll keep talking as long as I can."

Darkness fell on Isaac as it had on Henley's tale, josephs words chased him through the subconscious. A melancholy narrative designed to mask the sound of monsters stalking at his heel. Chromed teeth smiled, glistening in the dark atop skeletal forms that moved with elegant beauty. Theses creatures were not his demons. This was not his dream.

"I could hear the screaming son. I couldn't see in but I could hear them scream. They wailed for help, from

Mothers to Fathers and even a few different gods. None were listening."

They circled and swayed flirting with the dark. Slender limbs that hardly touched the ground.

"I got the panel free but I didn't Wanna open that door Isaac. I held it in place until the sounds coming from inside had stopped."

A nightmare borne from the darkest reaches of space, where stars won't dare to shine.

"You can call it guilt if you like, maybe selfish reassurance but I had to check before I found some place to hide. To know there was nothing I could have done."

A nightmare like your own, that needs a host to grow.

"I didn't fret over the sound of clattering steel. The silence after that screaming was hard to stomach. So I just dropped the panel, not that it mattered much."

Isaac lashed out at invisible assailants. Joseph ignored the urge to steady the man; he removed the clip from his pulse rifle and gently rested the weapon upon Isaacs's cheek. He hoped it would stop him causing too much damage as his armoured gauntlets pawed at his face.

"So anyway that's when I got hit. Something hit me in the head, knocked me out cold. I wish I could go into more detail, not just for you but for me too. I don't recall seeing anything, don't even remember waking up. I was hurting but alive; I guess they had their fill with the rich?"

Isaac had knocked the weapon free of its resting place but had found it once again in his fit filled sleep. Joseph extinguished fuel lamp, with the absence of light he focused on the double zeros emitting from the ammunition counter cradled against Isaacs's chest.

Nodding into the darkness he succumbed to his own dreams.


End file.
